He considered her words. She spoke of monsters. Was she running from one? Was that why she didn’t have anywhere to go tonight? “Why are you alone this Christmas?”
Her gaze grew cold. “It’s not my first Christmas alone.”
“I’m sorry. Is your family…”
“Dead?” She laughed a bitter note. “They’re still roaming the mortal coil, not like you are, but, I mean, they’re alive. I’m just not part of who they are anymore.”
He wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it, but he’d certainly care to hear her story. In all their interactions, he would have never guessed she’d had such darkness in her past, but now he saw that might be the case. “Do you want to share?
She shrugged and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping it around her. “My childhood wasn’t the best. There were good times, but the bad times were really bad. I didn’t know any better. I thought everyone grew up like that. My siblings needed someone to protect them, and as the oldest, it was my job. Finally, well into adulthood, I couldn’t bear the burden anymore. The truth was, they had issues, and I couldn’t let them keep putting it all on me.”
He saw her swallow a lump in her throat. He turned the fireplace on using the convenient switch he’d had installed that used a pilot light to ensure the fire was always just a click away during the winter.
“I love them, all of them, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I had to choose myself and a healthy life. I had to choose what was better, a life with my family, who used me as a punching bag, or escaping to start over on my own.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said when she was done talking.
“Don’t be,” she said, laughing bitterly. “I really don’t know why I unloaded on you like that.”
“I’d guess it was because you were afraid, and that fear kicked up some old feelings from your past.” He sat on the couch next to her, placing his arm on the back of it—an open invitation that she accepted by sliding over to lean against him.
“I don’t feel afraid when I’m with you. The opposite, in fact. I feel comfortable, secure even.”
“You deserve to have nothing but happiness from now on.” He lifted her chin and kissed her, pulling her into his arms.
“You don’t know me,” she said when they pulled apart.
“Then I’ll get to know you. We take one step at a time. But the person I know right now, the person sitting with me here needs to have a happy Christmas celebration. Tell me, what is your ideal Christmas?”
She smiled a little and nodded toward the fireplace. “Cuddling in front of a cozy fire, watching Christmas movies, sipping hot drinks. That’s exactly my kind of Christmas celebration.”
“Then, I’ve got you there.” He reached for the remote, turning on the TV and navigating to a channel playing nonstop Christmas romance movies.
Before the first movie was over, Mila was dozing in his arms. He let the movie keep playing, remaining still and allowing her to sleep, though he yearned for the chance to do more.
When dawn loomed, and he heard the sounds outside of the guests leaving, he finally roused her. “I need to retire soon, and I didn’t want you to wake alone. I can show you to a guest room if you’d like. Or you could stay here. My bed is available.” He gestured to the bedroom through the door. His sleeping nook was in another secret compartment, one that kept out all light.
Mila’s sleepy eyes followed his gaze toward the bedroom. “Your bed would be nice…if I stay, will I see you when you get up?”
“Yes, absolutely. But first,” he went back to his bedroom and came back with the bag she’d brought.
“Your sister-in-law’s present?”
He shook his head. “It’s yours. When I was getting you to pick the items out, I was hoping that you’d point me toward things you would like. I knew by the way your eyes lit up when you talked about the ‘spa in a box’ that it was something you liked. Hopefully, you don’t already have the book.”
She pulled each gift out, smiling as she did. She unwrapped the book, and then held it to her nose and inhaled the scent of the pages. “No, I don’t have it! And I do want it. And I can never have enough bath bombs.”
“If you’re up to it, you can enjoy all that while I sleep.”
“I’d really like that.”
She opened each gift, and when she got to the bangles, he took them, sliding each on her wrist. “And these? You seemed more drawn to them than the tennis bracelet.”
“I love them. They’re absolutely beautiful, and yes, more my style.” She stood so she could reach up and kiss him. She looked truly happy with the gifts, which was exactly what he’d hoped for. He knew at that moment that he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy.
She still wore her red dress, and he picked up the spare clothes he’d pull out for her. “I wish now that I’d suggested pajamas for the gift too,” he said.
“It’s okay.” She turned her back to him. “Do you mind unzipping me?”
His hand nearly shook as he pulled down the zipper, revealing more and more of her blood-warmed skin as he did so. Attempting to be a gentleman, he stepped away from her so she could change.
To his delight, she dropped the dress to the ground and faced him, pulling the pins out of her hair. Her long dark locks fell along to the top of her beautiful perky breasts. He sucked in a breath as he looked lower, seeing her trimmed hair between her legs, and his dick grew hard.
“Do we have a bit of time before you have to sleep?” Mila’s voice had turned sultry, and a sense of urgency overwhelmed him. He needed to touch her.
“Hell, yeah,” Finn groaned. It would be torture to drag himself away from her, but he’d indulge in every second he could.
He swept Mila into his arms and carried her into his bedroom. He laid her on his four-poster bed and took in the sensual image. “You look so good,” he murmured. She looked even more beautiful naked on his black duvet than she had in the dress.
He pulled the blackout shades over the blinds, hoping that would keep the sun at bay for as long as possible. Then he returned to the bed. She leaned up, helping him unbutton his shirt and pants and shed his clothes so they could be together more quickly.
“I wish we had time to make this slow,” he lamented. “Are you sure you want it like this?”
She took his hand, pulling him onto the bed and on top of her. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined being with you. I’ve dreamed about you.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t just me.” He laughed a little. If thoughts counted, then Mila had been in his bed nearly every night for almost a year. He kissed her neck, then looked her in the eyes as he touched her collarbone, down to her breasts.
Her eyes closed in pleasure under his touch. “I want you, Finn.” She sighed, spreading her legs on either side of him.
“I want you too, Mila.” He meant it when he said he wished he had more time. He wanted to taste every inch of her, worship her for hours on end. But the sun was coming, and it was now or never.
He joined his mouth with hers as he positioned himself at her entrance. She kissed him back and tilted her pelvis to meet him. He moved slowly, pressing into her cautiously, as though she might change her mind at any second.
She didn’t.
When he was fully sheathed, she broke their kiss. “You feel so good inside me.”
Finn groaned, unable to respond, and allowed his passion to take over. Inside of her, the feelings he already had in his heart intensified. If there had been any question before, it was gone now. He loved Mila, and they would be together forever.
Together they moved, his cold vampire body against her warm live flesh. Lost in the moment, he didn’t realize that his fangs had grown until she touched his mouth.
“Do you want to bite me,” she asked breathlessly.
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
“Will it hurt?”
“I’ve heard it said that it’s a good kind of pinch.”
She nodded. “I want you to bite me.”
He saw the confidence in her face, and her voice was steady. She trusted him. That alone nearly sent him over the edge.
“You can tell me to stop at any time,” he said, leaning down to her neck while he still moved in and out of her body.
“Okay. Do it.”
With that, he sank his fangs into her, and she let out a moan. As expected, the bite pulled her into ecstasy with him.
He wouldn’t take too much, but he allowed himself to take enough to bring them both to a climax together. Her body clenched around him, and her little cries were the only soundtrack he ever wanted for his orgasms for the rest of his days.
As their movement slowed, he let go of her neck, retracting his fangs and licking her neck to close the puncture spots. He pressed his forehead to hers, knowing the sun was fast rising and that he needed to retire quickly, but unwilling to destroy the absolutely perfect moment they were sharing.
“I think I love you,” he said finally.
“I think I love you, too,” she replied.
He kissed her one last time before wrenching himself away. His sealed nook would be lonely without her, but at least he could look forward to sleeping like the dead and then waking the next night to see her again.
“Mila, this is our first Christmas together, but I hope it’s only the first of many.”
“Me too,” she replied. “I can’t wait to see where this goes.”
Stay tuned for more! Coming in March 2021, see how Cicely and Haskel met in the anthology, Vampirates! To keep up on all Renee Hewett’s latest releases, sign up for her newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/reneehewett
About the Author
Renee Hewett writes steamy paranormal romance. Many of these stories are in shared worlds, including Milly Taiden’s MT Worlds, Eve Langlais’ EveL Worlds, and Crimson Moon Hideaway. Before becoming a full-time writer she worked in marketing, web writing, and editing.
A bit of a wanderer, Renee has lived in western New York, central Texas, the Canada prairies and Capital, and now resides in Colorado. She loves sparkles, crafts, true crime, her two cats, and working on new stories for her readers.
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Read More of Renee's Books
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Chimera's Edge
A Christmas Lynx
The Willow Rescue (Disrupting Crinis Book One)
Defending Her Honey Badger (Disrupting Crinis Book Two)
Dragon Princess: Treasured Love
Goose and the Ocelot
Renee Hewett writing as Jessica Ripley
The Dire Bear's Witch
Strange Rogue Beasts
Clockwork at the Big Top
Mage’s Midnight Kiss
A Wardens of Midnight Novella
Helen Scott
About Mage’s Midnight Kiss
A mage princess and three vampire princes. Can they bring peace between their kingdoms?
Charlotte ran away from home, desperate to avoid the obligations of being a princess in the Bloodmoon clan. As a female mage, she’s a precious commodity, but also a prisoner of her family’s desire for power. Sold and bought like a piece of property.
Now, after living on the streets, she’s working as a maid for the vampire king and queen of North America. When a party to honor their three sons is scheduled, all she wants is to get a peek at her old life, just to watch people dance and have fun. What she gets is so much more than she expected, especially when the princes start paying attention . . .
Chapter 1
Charlotte’s fingers were raw as she scrubbed the floor. Someone had spilled something and not bothered to clean it up, and why would they when she was there? She was the all-purpose maid, the cleaner, the cook, the laundromat. Every single job that one of the other staff didn’t want to do was handed to her, and she was supposed to smile and thank them.
It wasn’t lost on her that with a twitch of her fingers and a little blood, she could have this all done instantly. After all, she was a powerful mage of the Bloodmoon clan, not that anyone there knew it. Some days, she was sorely tempted, but then the thought of her family would creep back in, and she would resign herself to scrubbing the pots and pans or floors, or whatever it was that day, until her fingers bled with the effort.
The only thing she allowed herself to use magic for was to subtly change her appearance. Her flame-red hair was brown. Her mismatched eyes, normally green and red, were also a dark brown, and there were a few other minor tweaks that made her completely unrecognizable to anyone who had known her previously. There was nothing remarkable about her, all thanks to an amulet that only had to be recharged once every few months. She wore it tucked under her clothing, and no one was the wiser.
“Jane!” Chef Morris called from across the downstairs kitchen. She tidied what she’d been doing and hurried over to him even though she wanted to strangle him. The man knew she hated when he used that name. It was a nickname she’d acquired when she’d refused to provide the vampires who ran the house with her real name. Everyone called her Jane, or Doe, or, and this one was the worst of the bunch, street rat.
“Yes, Chef?” she asked as she quietly appeared by his side.
“His lordship and his wife are going to be holding a ball for each of their sons starting tomorrow night through the next two weeks, ending with a massive Yuly ball. You and Cat will be responsible for cleaning the house after each ball. It’s expected to be neat and tidy by the time the household rises for the day. Also, I will need you to take them their breakfasts in the morning. Nina finally popped yesterday, so we are going to be short-staffed while she’s on maternity leave.”
“Was it a boy or a girl?” she asked excitedly.
“What does it matter to you?” The chef looked down his nose at her.
“Forgive me. It’s none of my business,” she said quickly so as not to earn even more work for herself.
“Exactly. Keep your head down and do your work, or you’ll be back out on the street where Prince Silas found you.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Get back to whatever it was you were doing, street rat.”
Pushing her rage down, she walked away from the man who controlled almost every aspect of her life. The rest of the day passed in a blur—laundry, dishes, and eventually the sweet relief of her bed.
The next morning, she was busy cleaning the kitchen, ready for Chef Morris and his sous chefs to appear and start preparing the food and other delicacies for the ball that night. All the residue from the food cooked yesterday was wiped away, and she could almost see her face on the stovetop. The black glass gleamed as she wiped it down one last time before she moved on to the mountain of other tasks she had to do. The last thing she had expected was to see another face in the glass, watching her.
A small yelp of surprise escaped her before she could stop it.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was looking for Chef,” a deep masculine voice said behind her.
Charlotte turned and realized that it was Prince Silas who stood in front of her. His dark-blond hair glinted in the small amount of light coming in through the window, making the very tips of it look like gold.
His hard jaw was set, and a smirk danced on his lips, pulling them to the side while his dark-gray eyes took her in. She couldn’t help herself. He was the only person who had been kind to her in years, and when her eyes darted up to meet his, her heart started to gallop in her chest, before she wrenched them back down and focused on his gleaming brown sh
oes. The gray hoodie and jeans that he was wearing were perfectly tailored to his trim yet muscular body and the hoodie alone probably cost more than all the clothes she owned put together, with the exception of what she had taken from her family.
She wanted to kick herself as she realized he was waiting for her to respond. “You don’t have to apologize, Your Highness. If you would like, I can go find Chef for you.”
“That’s not necessary, Jane.”
She glanced up at him when he used the nickname that the others did, not wanting him to think of her that way. “That’s not my name,” she said quietly.
“I’d be happy to call you by your real name if you would tell me.”
“I can’t, I’m sorry.” She had no doubt that her family was still looking for her, and if even the faintest whisper got back to them of a Charlotte staying anywhere, they would surely investigate. It was a risk she couldn’t take.
“Then I shall continue to call you Jane, as I need to call you something. Unless you would prefer street rat or straggletag?”
She flinched at the other names. “No, sir.”
“All I need is for you to give Chef a message for me. Just tell him that we want goose tonight with dinner, maybe some duck as well if he has an idea of what to do with it.”
“Yes, sir.” Her eyes betrayed her and trailed up to the dark-gray ones that were staring down at her.
The air between them became charged, and the same pull she had felt toward him when they’d first met was present once more. Of course, he would never lower himself to being attracted to a street rat such as herself, but she couldn’t help but lust after him.
Holidays Bite: A Limited Edition Collection of Holiday Vampire Tales Page 45